Chapter 86: Give you candy, you'll kill me!

Why are you in debt? Wouldn't it be fine to properly catch bugs?

Wouldn't it be good to admit your mistake properly? Why are you hung up on the tree and still unable to face reality?

One by one, the problems passed through Kang Zhi Xia's mind, from childhood to adulthood, and for the first time they felt regret.

"Do you want to save me, or kill me?" Kang Zhi Xia was about to cry; he was just an eight‑year‑old child, and on his first day away from home his emotions were on the verge of collapse.

Ning Hanmo gave an annoyed eye roll. "What good would killing you do me? Want to give me candy to eat?"

Kang Zhi Xia cried and cried, "Give you candy, and you'll kill me!"

This?

"Kill you? What's in it for me?" Ning Hanmo rolled his eyes, then looked at the people around him.

"Everyone think of a solution," the Dean said, "don't move the spikes below, and don't move the bugs on him." Ning Hanmo furrowed his brow.

Kang Wen looked at several people and said, "Otherwise we could just cut the rope and let Zhi Xia brother jump over?"

The looks several people gave Kang Wen were filled with contempt that spilled over.

Over there, Kang Zhi Xia was almost crying.

"Listen to me, thank you~"

The song in my heart loops endlessly.

"We girls will catch him with a blanket down below?" Kang Zhiqiu was a bit anxious, after all, he's our own brother.

Kang Zi Wei shook her head. "No, we can support Zhi Xia's weight, but we can't handle the impact of his fall; if we don't catch him properly, he…"

After looking at the spikes below, she didn't say the rest.

"Kang Wen, go get paper and brush from the study," Ning Hanmo said.

His legs are still sore; he can barely stand, though the trembling has lessened, but his strength hasn't returned.

"Okay."

Kang Wen immediately ran back to their dormitory, didn't bother whose desk it was, and hurriedly fetched paper and brush.

"I… I need someone's back." Ning Hanmo looked at the few people; right now he has nowhere to write.

Just now his mother left, and the tea table was also taken away.

"I'll do it; you guys can use your heads, I'll be the table." Kang Wen squatted on the ground and smoothed out the wrinkles in his clothes.

Ning Hanmo placed the paper on top, Kang Wen adjusted the angle, even leaning a bit on the ground, his face turning red from holding his breath, but he didn't make a sound.

Kang Zhi Xia, hanging from the tree, just watched the crowd below, each of them busy for his sake.

But what had he done before?

They had painstakingly whittled wooden chopsticks, and he snapped them.

He had been suppressing his temper, and it all burst out onto them.

But now they're still running around, busy figuring out how to save him, each doing their own thing, everyone thinking, watching, offering ideas.

"Here, we'll pull with a rope, but this time we'll tie it around the waist—since the weight might be too much for us to hold, we'll first secure it to the tree, then lower him little by little." Ning Hanmo drew the current tree and people on the paper, then at the trunk's position he drew a rope, whose end was tied to another tree.

"What do you think?" After he finished drawing, he raised his head and looked at everyone.

Kang Wu thought for a moment, then said, "Tie two ropes around the waist—one for safety, and another so we can later change the direction of pull."

"Look, we can stand here and pull outward, which would let us gradually move out of the spikes' range." Kang Wu moved the positions with his hand on the paper.

Ning Hanmo nodded, evaluating the method: "This method works."

"Here, although the Dean said we shouldn't move the spikes… we could use wooden tubs to cover them; I checked the spike height, and a wooden tub would be enough." Ning Qiancheng spoke up.

He usually speaks very little; having formed the habit in the palace of saying and doing little, he prefers to stay in the background and avoid drawing attention.

But after half a day, Ning the elder told him he could voice any ideas, no need to keep them bottled up.

Only then did he summon the courage to voice his opinion in front of these strangers.

"Brother, great idea." Kang Wu's eyes lit up.

Even if their calculations for the upper rope go wrong, Zhi Xia brother won't face the risk of being impaled like a hedgehog.

Wooden tubs are a good thing.

Hearing Kang Wu's straightforward praise, Ning Qiancheng smiled shyly, feeling satisfied and excited.

Ning Hanmo thought it over, then nodded and said, "Alright, let's do it that way!"

"Kang Wen, get up quickly." Ning Hanmo was finally able to stand; his legs were still weak, but he had recovered quite a bit.

He pulled Kang Wen up; Kang Wen had been half‑crouched, his face red from holding his breath, but he didn't budge.

Everyone stood up.

Ning Hanmo said, "I'll assign the tasks."

"Yes!" the boys and girls replied in unison.

Even little Yue Yue felt a bit excited; the small bell in the courtyard rang clear and fine.

"The rope—hand it to Zi Wei sister; you and your team take charge, gather as much as you can; if it's not enough…" Ning Hanmo thought it over and over, then steeled himself.

"If it's not enough, go find Shunzi and have him cut my clothes into rope—make sure it's strong, don't let it break midway."

"Each segment of rope should be pulled taut to avoid any mistakes."

Ning Hanmo repeatedly gave these instructions.

Kang Zi Wei nodded. "Don't worry, leave it to us."

She led the four girls and began searching for rope.

Meanwhile, Ning Hanmo continued to look at the three people and said, "The wooden tubs are heavy, and there are more spikes here; for safety we'll work in pairs to move the tubs—we don't know if we have enough, so let's start moving them."

"Okay." The four people walked out of the courtyard.

Only the person waiting to be rescued up in the tree, watching everything unfold, felt that this group, working together like this, no longer seemed to resist in his heart.

Just...

Jiang Yun Chu!

He silently recited in his heart; as soon as he thought of her, he thought of the itch on his body. No one knew where that green, oily worm had crawled to, but he felt that his whole body was itchy.

Now he couldn't bother with feeling nauseous; he just wished he could scrub off a layer of his own skin.

"Put this wooden tub here." Ning Hanmo and Ning Qiancheng formed a pair, and the two of them carried over the first wooden tub.

Behind them followed Kang Wen and Kang Wu; the four of them, as the number of wooden tubs increased, continually changed their positions.

Rhyme Courtyard

"How's their progress?" Jiang Yun Chu put down the book in their hand and rubbed their brow.

As the number of children increased, disputes would also increase; fights wouldn't be the first, but they wouldn't be the last either.

However...